[Klazu]

Having lived 4.5 years in Vancouver we have been to almost every part of the metropolitan area. However there are still some small pockets that remain and one of those is the small Westham Island in the Fraser River delta in Delta, BC.

Like the name suggests, it's an island connected to the mainland only with a small bridge. A scene in the X-Files was shot on this bridge.





About half of the island is farmland and the other half is a protected migratory bird sanctuary named after George C. Reifel. It's a swampy area perfect for waterfowls to rest on their long migration between South America and Alaska.



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I was slightly surprised that there is a $5 admission fee to visit the area. There is even a gift shop!



Inside many birds are very accustomed to people that often feed them with seeds that one can buy.





On a nice summer day the area makes for a nice quiet walk.









There are booths to observe birds without disturbing them. We only saw few common bird species, but there are over 250 in the area.





The bird tower offers a view from above.





Deltaport container port in the background.





Huge marshland covers most of the coast of Strait of Georgia.





Small ducklings are always cute!







On the way back we did stop at Emma Lea Farms (also on the island) for some fresh strawberries.





Hey, I can see my home from here!



It was a nice visit and I was surprised how huge the island actually is. It makes for a nice day trip for families looking to feed some birds and there were lots of families wityh kids. Just look out for some over-protective Canada Geese.